Episode 41
FIRST BACK NEXT
At long last, here's the much-delayed new episode. Technical problems plagued the strip this time. My scanner software failed to keep pace with the updates to the Mac operating system. I had to find an alternate source to scan my art. I may have to keep going out for scans until the software catches up.This episode takes an unusual turn, not only are the residents of Purgatory Park dealing with aliens, but now zombie invasion too. Are they related? Only time will tell.
Turn your head and cough!
Episode 39
How To Wash Your Hair
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Zombie Marge’s
latest action-packed episode is running a little late. However, I don’t want
her loyal readers to go with out a ha-ha or two this week. Marge advised me to,
“just run some public service
crap. No one will notice the difference, honey.”
Cincinnati Comic Expo 2013
Episode 38
Episode 37
FIRST BACK NEXT
Marge continues her involvement with the local police, although she is no longer the prime suspect in the recent rash of UFO sightings. She's just trying to be helpful by offering her dog to track the Mothman into the swamp. Hey! Wait a minute! Wasn't she wearing handcuffs a few episodes ago?Cap’n Catnip to the Rescue!
Just in time for the Cincinnati Comic Expo, it’s our newest
book, The Adventures of Cap’n Catnip & Womble the Wonder Gerbil. This all-ages comic collects all the
material that was created for Charlton Bullseye in 1981. It was written by my
good friend John Leasure and drawn, lettered and newly colored by me. Two of
the three stories have never been seen in their original form. The art has been
gathering dust in my filing cabinet all these years. It’s about time they saw the light of day.
We will have copies for sale at the Cincinnati Comic Expo,
along with a special commemorative art print. Or the book can be ordered
online, just click the link on the left.
Episode 36
FIRST BACK NEXT
As promised, here's a brand new episode, hot off the drawing board. The rampant UFO flap continues in Purgatory Park with sightings of strange creatures and appearances of the ominous Men in Black. Marge, along with her police escort, Sargent Shenanigan and Officer Kelton are being led on a frustrating chase back and fourth across the county. Let's hope they are getting closer to an answer to these mysteries, and not just stringing us along like the X-Files did.Back to the ol' drawing board!
Don't think that I've been goofing off. I completed two new books, Cap'n Catnip #1 and SHAM Comics #4. I will post more about both of them here as soon as they are ready for sale. I've also spent a great deal of time bringing all my comics over to our new printer, KaBlam. Most of the books on the left side of the page are now available from Indy Planet. Click on the covers to be taken to the site.
Thanks for everyone's patience in my absence.
Episode 35
UNMAIMED LOVE part 8
UNMAIMED LOVE part 2
UNMAIMED LOVE part 1
As I mentioned the other day, most of these romance comics from the fifties have fallen into the public domain and are fair game for a smartass like me to use them as I see fit. In my rewritten version of the story, the action takes place in Anaheim, California in 1954, just months before the grand opening of Disneyland. In fairness to Walt Disney, who was a difficult boss, by all accounts, there are no stories that paint him as a womanizer. Except this one.
Stop by every day this week for a new page of Unmaimed Love!
Behind the scenes
I thought I’d take a minute to pull back the curtain and
discuss some recent events that are affecting the Zombie Marge strip. It’s been
busy over the last few weeks, and by busy I mean disruptive. Since I started
the Mothman storyline on March 15th, I have posted a new strip every Monday like clockwork. But there
will not be a Marge strip this Monday. Life has gotten in the way.
Several weeks ago I began serving jury duty, which is
proving to be much more intrusive than I would have guessed. I’ve used up my
cushion of strips I had built up. I need to draw more as time allows.
Also a few weeks ago I got the news that ComiXpress was
closing it’s doors suddenly and unexpectedly. Most of the books listed on this page were printed at ComiXpress, so that meant I had to scramble to find another printer
to do the job. After much research, I've decided to print all the books with
KaBlam and offer them for sale through Indy Planet and Indy Planet Digital.
But this will take time, the printer files from ComiXpress
are not compatible with the specifications for KaBlam. This means that each and every
book needs to be remade to the new specs. And that takes time away for the
weekly strip. Currently only two links on this page are active. The Little
Olden Book is already available from Indy Planet and Zombie Marge #1 is
available, as of today. I will continue to place books one at a time until I
have them all up. Stay tuned.
So, no Marge for a week or two as I get ahead again. But you
don’t have to go empty handed. In its place I will post a very special SHAM Comics
story, featuring an amazing artist you might have heard of. Frank Frazetta did a
handful of romance stories in the mid-fifties. All have fallen into public
domain. One of them appears in SHAM Comics #2. But the most famous by far was
“Untamed Love.” It was more of a
lush jungle adventure than a typical love story.
So beginning Monday, and appearing every day next week, stop
by to read my take on this fantastic story. See you then.
Episode 32
FIRST BACK NEXT
Hey, isn’t that the guy from that thing? Why, yes. Yes it
is. That’s Patrolman Kelton as played by actor Paul Marco, who appeared in Ed
Wood’s “Bride of the Monster,” “Night of the Ghouls,” and, best of all, ‘Plan 9
from Outer Space,” his finest performance. It seemed fitting for Officer Kelton
to join Marge in her quest for aliens, for reasons that will become obvious
later. Marco died in 2006. To learn more visit his website at: http://www.winvisual.com/marco/index.html
Episode 31
Episode 30
FIRST BACK NEXT
At last, the Men In Black have arrived! But these MIBs, unlike the ones in the popular films, are not here to help. In fact, they are not quite human! Certainly, they are from no government agency on this planet. Most of the literature dealing with this phenomenon suggests that these mysterious creatures as closely related to the UFOs that they are “investigating.” They are often described as having a strange appearance, wearing clothes and driving cars that are out of date, yet in pristine condition. They sometimes have difficulty speaking or breathing. Some sound as if the words they say are only memorized and are foreign to them. Some reports mention that they do not move their lips but their robotic-like voices are heard telepathically. Simple concepts are unknown to them, and they generally act strange. They come and go quickly, leaving no trace.That describes these MIBs. The poor dopes don’t realize what they are up against, never having threatened a cranky old zombie before. Join us next time and see who intimidates who.
Episode 29
FIRST BACK NEXT
Now it’s a party! The Grays have arrived, let the fun begin.These little creatures have been popping up for decades. They were first described in literature by H.G. Wells in his 1901 book The First Men in the Moon. They were frequently portrayed throughout the 1930s in science fiction pulp magazines, like Amazing Stories. But by the early 1950s, they were closely associated with UFO-related phenomenon. Stories of the Roswell crash include claims that small pilots were recovered in the wreckage.
Many cases of alien abduction include these greys carrying out the tasks of experimenting on helpless victims. As if they were not already ingrained into pop culture, they got a boost in popularity in 1987 in the book, Communion by Whitley Strieber, who claimed repeated visitations from them.
Extraterrestrial anal probers or mass hallucinations? Whatever these strange creatures may be, it seems likely that they have had many disguises down through recorded history. Could this same phenomenon be responsible for stories of angels, demons, fairies and leprechauns? Could be! Could be!
Episode 28
FIRST BACK NEXT
One of the common elements of the alien abduction encounters is the trip in the space ship to other worlds. It was first suggested in the 1930s in the science fiction pulp stories. Then abruptly in 1946 the fiction became real when George Adamski began seeing flying craft regularly in and around his home at the Palomar Mountain area. George was an unremarkable Polish immigrant who settled in California and an avid reader of pulp magazines.On November 20, 1952, Adamski claimed he was given a ride in a flying saucer by a friendly Venusian named Orthon. He wrote about his voyages in many books. He was never deterred by those who insisted he was a fraud. Until his death in 1965, George made a successful career lecturing about the experiences.
Since we are touching on all facets of the UFO phenomenon, it’s only fair that Marge gets a lift in an alien craft. For a zombie, she gets around. Next week, Marge has a close encounter of her own. Will there be any probing involved? Join us and see!
Episode 27
FIRST BACK NEXT
Though less well known to the general public, holes in the ice are a phenomenon closely linked to UFO appearances. Like crop circles, large perfectly round holes in the ice have appeared in areas of unexplained activity.Fortean author Ivan T. Sanderson made the connection between UFOs and bodies of water in his book “Invisible Residents” in 1970. While others were watching the skies for signs of the unknown lights, Sanderson speculated that their point of origin was below the oceans. He saw the strange craft as a terrestrial phenomenon and tied it to the appearances of elusive monsters like the Loch Ness monster and other strange lake creatures.
This seemed like a dramatic entrance for Marge’s first encounter with these unknown forces. I also wanted this flashback to be a different style than the rest of the story and chose to render it entirely in Adobe Illustrator, without ink lines and in a blue monochrome. Her tale continues next week.
Episode 26
FIRST BACK NEXT
Boy! Compared to last week, was this strip ever hard work. But loads of fun. I don’t think there’s been a Zombie Marge episode with as many different characters on one page.From the beginning, I’ve dropped hints that Purgatory Park, and Tanglefoot Cenetery in particular, were special locations that just invited the paranormal to come on in and make itself at home. Strange things are always happening there. That’s why Marge is so comfortable in the town. Suddenly all that paranormal activity has taken the form of unusual lights in the sky and all the related phenomenon. The locals have gathered at the pub to swap stories of the latest odd events, in this case, the UFO sightings and extraterrestrial visitations. Everybody is trying to one-up the others. It seems like the whole town has had some sort of unexplainable experience or another. But Zombie Marge has them all beat. With a little luck, this story will try to get around to answering all of these various mysteries. Except maybe how to make a proper Manhattan. The truth is out there!
Episode 25
FIRST BACK NEXT
Oh boy! This new format is liberating. I'm moving at such speeds that I'm seven strips ahead already. At this rate I should be able to post once a week, at least until I slow down.So join us next time as the town is buzzing about all the strange events. Even Marge has a story to tell.
Episode 24
FIRST BACK NEXT
Buckle up! Here we go! The first thing you’ll notice is that I redesigned the
format of the strip. While I liked the looks of the Sunday comic page-style I
was using, it was a great deal of extra work to restack it for a comic book
page. It was also very restrictive to write and draw as well. This opens up new
possibilities of layout and storytelling. Look for more innovative narrative as
this tale goes on.
A couple of weeks ago, I admitted to not having an ending
for the Hawking story when I began posting it. That is not the case this time
out. I’ve plotted this little epic completely from start to finish. Which is
not to say that there isn’t some room to improvise in the middle. We will see.
The story will last most of this year. I intend to give it
the space it deserves to play out. Everything will change by the end. Enjoy the
ride!
Happy Ides of Marge!
Join us next week for the first episode as Marge Madness
continues.
Episode 23
FIRST BACK NEXT
And here we are, at last, at the final episode of this storyline, as we quickly approach the one-year anniversary of the strip. I want to thank my faithful readers who've stuck it out. It's been a fun year, full of ups and downs. I have big plans for the next series of stories, but with this episode, I wanted to bring everything back to the status quo. Valuable lessons are learned and the after life returns to what Zombie Marge calls normal. But her version of normal won't last for long.Stop by on March 15th to celebrate the Ides of Marge and get a little peek at the new adventure.
Episode 22
FIRST BACK NEXT
It seems like the strip is settling back into a regular schedule as my arm continues to heal. This story line is winding down and a new adventure begins on March 15th.
For those of you who like to see behind the curtain (you know who you are), I will admit that I had no idea how this story was going to end when I started it. It's a terribly unfocused way to work, but it produces some surprising results often. But back in September I attended an Ad Club luncheon where we viewed award-winning work from around the world. Included in the commercials and campaigns was a documentary on the making of the Tupac hologram at the Coachella festival. It was a tailor-made solution to my Hawking problem. Marge wouldn't have to actually eat Stephen's brain after all.
Episode 21
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